Stranger than Fission
by DefyingPhysix
Summary: Mandark strives to forget the past, as Dexter struggles for his future- what will happen, when they end up as room mates? Dexdark slash. Rated for light fluffage and adult themes.
1. Chapter 1

_*I do not own Dexter's' Laboratory. But I do own a pair of fancy purple surgical gloves, so…?_

Chapter one.

"We're proud of you, Manny, but…"

He knew the tone, he'd known it for years. The same 'we're this, we're that', all of it leading to only one thing;

"…We can't make it."

Mandark sat on the hood of his car, slipping his hand into the pocket of his slacks and letting out a slow, quiet sigh, "I know, mom."

"Your father and I are going to have a look at the resort- the brochure looks wonderful."

"Mom, it's a _nudists colony_."

"It's a _clothing optional resort_," his mother corrected, "We've talked about this before, dear."

"Yeah, yeah."

"So, you'll be alright going up to the university by yourself?"

"Yes, mom."

"We love you, Sweetie. We'll be sure to visit, to see how you're settling in, okay?"

Mandark tossed his dark bangs from his face, "Yeah. Bye, mom."

"Goodbye, Mandark."

At least they had stopped calling him Susan.

He'd been so sure of his parents shirking of him, the back of his crappy, used dodge four-door was packed with cardboard boxes of files, equipment and clothes- truthfully, he did not know what he was going to do, with his long-acquired lab equipment, but the thought of leaving it, abandoned, in his vacant lab when his parents sold the house had been intolerable. So he had wrapped it as best he could with packing peanuts and newspaper and crammed it into the back, set for the long trip up to the university.

Mandark snapped the phone shut and slid it into his pocket, rising from his half-seat on the hood and stretching, his spine popping every now and again- he was too tall, for his car, and imagined that he looked something like a clown, climbing in and out of the cab. But the insurance wasn't bad, and he'd already driven the poor thing to death, so he found himself fond of it. Mandark pulled open the slightly creaky door and folded his long legs inside, bowing his lanky form into the seat and shutting the door. He started the engine, and sighed again.

He'd never been to see his room, in the dormitory, and was only slightly surprised to find it rather spacious. Two windows looked out onto the campus opposite the door, and the place was furnished with two hardy, worn work desks and steel-framed twin-sized beds. The room was perfectly symmetrical, and the simplicity of the place felt refreshing.

He set to moving in his things, ignoring the upperclassmen passersby as he hauled box after box up the stairs and down the hall, stacking them first on the featureless mattress, and then onto the desk and floor. He knew he could not begin to unpack his delicate instruments until he had secured a place for them, away from the eyes of what was certain to be a clueless roommate…

At last Mandark lowered himself into his swivel desk chair with a sigh, sweeping his bangs away from his eyes and pushing his thick-framed glasses up the bridge of his nose. So, this was it. The beginning to end his hellish childhood. It was the future, now; he had nothing but to look forward to expanding his genius, having at last escaped from the tyranny of peers that mocked him, a family that did not understand him, and a rival-

"What does _this_ button do?"

"Dee Dee, do not touch my instruments!"

Mandark blinked, and jumped as the door burst open to bang against the wall sharply. He gaped in horror at the short, red-haired boy that stood on the threshold, his arms loaded with moving boxes of his own, gaping with similar shock through glasses identical to Mandark's own. It only took a few moments for his identity to click into place-

"_YOU_-!" They both burst simultaneously.

"Can't you leave me alone?!" Dexter demanded in his traditionally fiery Seribian accent.

"Me?! I was here first!" Mandark replied angrily.

"As if! I _chose_ this room-" the boxes jolted from his arms as he let out a cry, stumbling forward, Dee Dee forcing her way inside.

"_Hiiiiiii_, Manny!" She chirruped cheerfully, "Wow, this room is neat!"

"Dee Dee! Watch where you are going!" Dexter snapped, pushing his glasses back onto his face and beginning to scoop up his boxes.

"Ooh, what a pretty view! Wood floors? What a cute smoke alarm! The walls are kind of boring. Is the bed comfy? Gee, this is neat!" Dee Dee continued, ignoring her brother as she brushed her long, blonde tresses over her shoulder, circling the room. Mandark stared as she came to stop before him, leaning down to smile at him, accenting just how well she had filled out, during high school, "How are you, Manny?"

"G-good…"

"I demand that you get out of my room!" Dexter said, vexed at being ignored, "The both of you!"

"You're going to take care of Dexter for me, aren't you?" Dee Dee questioned, and Mandark thought he saw actual concern, behind her bright smile.

"Okay…"

"I do not need to be taken care of! I need to be left alone!" Dexter cried, his face nearly as red as his hair, "Dee Dee, get out of my…" he paused, "…room!"

"Thanks, Manny!" Dee Dee said, planting a small kiss on his cheek and bouncing up again, "I've got to go, Dexter! Play nice, now!"

"Yes, fine! Just go away!" Dexter grumped, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Call me if you need anything, 'kay?" She said, mussing his orange bangs until he pushed her hand away.

"'Kay," he replied, much of his malice faltering.

Dee Dee looked back at Mandark, "I'm counting on you, Manny! Bye!" and she left the room.

"Stop staring at her, you creep," Dexter growled, and Mandark flushed.

"As if. Childhood crushes mean nothing- I'm beyond it." Mandark replied, finding himself falling back on his old condescending tone.

They watched each other in silence for a few moments.

"So where have you been, then?" Mandark questioned cynically, "You disappear junior year, and now you're back to annoy me? What, they didn't make robes small enough?"

"Where I was is none of your business. I see you managed to become valedictorian and _still_ end up being the biggest moron on the planet," Dexter turned away from him, beginning to pull open boxes and stack books onto the barren shelves over the desk, "Fancy that."

Biting the inside of his cheek, Mandark got to his feet, beginning to rummage around in his own things. It seemed that life wouldn't cut him a break, after all.

xXx


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two.

There had been days that he didn't have the energy to lift his head from the pillow. If they had visited him on any one of those days, he wouldn't have known. But he had always hated the nights.

Dexter had requested that Dee Dee not come to see him, when he had started loosing teeth, but she had refused to comply. She had been the strongest, he thought- his father always had a joke and his mother always held him, when she could, but he could always see the fear behind their eyes. Dee Dee… she was so strong. She wasn't afraid of him, or what would happen to him- she would always come in being especially loud, jumping on his bed, showing him trophies she had won in dancing and cheerleading, transforming his world of steel grey and medical white into sunshine and annoying unicorn stories. She was the best, t telling stories; to anyone that asked, he was off hunting lions in Sudan or on a secret mission for the president. They were both too old for it, Dee Dee being seventeen and himself fifteen. But both of them knew that the truth was both boring and too serious for either taste.

She was an absent-minded girl, at best… but an amazing one. Dexter honestly believed that she had been the one to pull him through the worst of the chemo.

Dexter's eyes cracked open at the agitated beep of his cell phone alarm, and his hand snaked out from his curled form in the blankets to seize the device, pulling it close enough to see without his glasses. The front screen read 5:30 in digital hand. Dexter sighed, and dropped it onto the pillow beside his face, shutting his eyes again.

"It's time to get up, Dexter," a digitized female voice crooned in his ear.

"Yes, yes. A few more minutes, computer."

"You will be late for your first class, Dexter."

"I will not. Now shh." Dexter buried his face into his pillow with a frown.

"Precautionary physical electro-stimuli mode activated," she murmured pleasantly.

Dexter let out a yelp as a blue spark of electricity flicked his exposed ear, "Stop it!" Dexter snapped, seizing the phone with both hands as she retracted a tiny shock prod, "I should have never downloaded your personality from the mainframe!"

She only buzzed and vibrated in mechanical laughter.

Dexter sat up, sighing with a small smile, "Alright, computer, I'm up." He kicked his blankets away and his feet found the wood floor.

He supposed that he should be excited- he hadn't been to a proper lecture in nearly two years. He'd watched them online as much as he could, but getting back into his old study habits would prove interesting. A lot of things had happened in the world, during his absence, and it was up to him to catch up with it.

Speaking of change…

Dexter cautiously leaned away from the sink, squinting into the dark room outside he bright bathroom, considering as he brushed his teeth. Mandark, then? Where the games to start all over again, like when they had been children? But they weren't children, anymore… and why did Mandark look so _sad?_

Perhaps it was a trick. Perhaps he wasn't even sleeping, but watching, waiting for Dexter to leave, so that he could do… something. Dexter left his post at the sink, creeping back into the room to crouch beside Mandark's bed, waiting. If he was awake, he'd slip up somehow.

Mandark snored softly, murmuring something in his sleep before he rolled over, his sleeping face exposed to show at first a grumpy visage, before he relaxed and became calm once more. His dark, delicate brows furrowed for a few moments, and he rubbed his nose, his hand falling back to the pillow as his dreams continued, undisturbed.

"Touché," Dexter said lowly, "But I know your game, Mandark- don't think for a second that I don't. I won't let my guard down, not around you…"

Mandark blinked open his hazel-colored eyes, squinting. They stared at one another for a few moments. "Dexter?" He questioned slowly, his face reddening.

"Hey, how are you?" Dexter responded, still watching him cynically.

"I'm… I'm trying to sleep."

"How's that working out for you?"

"…Could you back up a little?"

"Sure, sure." Dexter inched back on his heels, his stare unblinking.

Mandark frowned and rolled over, throwing the blankets over his head, "Freak."

xXx


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three.

"The councilor asked to see me?"

"Did you receive a confirmation E-mail on the time and date of your appointment?"

"Why would I? I didn't ask to come here," Mandark frowned.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to wait for your email, Mr. …?"

"Astronomonov. Mandark Astronomonov. Are you listening to me?"

"You're written in on the schedule, Miss Astronomonov- the councilor is waiting to see you. And next time, please bring in a print-out of your confirmation e-mail. Next."

"That's _Mr._ Astronomonov," Mandark growled, glaring. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and departed from the front desk, his features burning at the blank stares of the students in line behind him. He jammed his hands in his pockets and retreated down the hall, past the shut oak doors sporting brass nametags that announced the surnames of each of the dozens of councilors in place to help freshman 'find their way'.

Mandark had never needed such help, and it had come as a bit of a surprise to find a summons in his inbox that morning. He had wondered if there were a problem in his scheduling, and if it would hinder the classes he would start tomorrow. Ignoring the regular humiliations he experienced on a regular basis at the hands of idiots, he pushed forward, hoping to resolve the errors present.

He found a door standing open, and craned his neck to look inside, "Hello…?"

An older man in a loose polo nearly the same shade as his pink skin with a horseshoe ring of salt-and-pepper hair sat at a desk that looked far too big for him, shuffling through paperwork without looking up, at last drawing up a paper to squint at it, "… Susan Astronomonov?" He questioned.

Mandark frowned bitterly. He could not wait until his eighteenth birthday, when he would at last legally change his name, "Yes?"

"Come in, young miss," he looked up with a smile, blinking through thick, slightly fogged glasses, "Have a seat, don't be shy."

Mandark bit the inside of his cheek and entered the office, shutting the door behind himself, "Is there some reason you wanted to see me?"

"Yes, well," the councilor said, proceeding to paw through the papers on his desk. Mandark glanced at his own ridiculously thick school file, then returned to watching the mole-like councilor, "I was just having a look over the files of my freshman- I like to localize, I care about each of you individually."

"I'm sure," Mandark replied flatly, crossing his arms across his chest.

"You have quite an impressive record, Susan. You graduated with honors, at the top of your class… each of your instructors claimed that you have 'limitless potential'." He looked up at Mandark again, "What made you decided to attend our university?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well…" the councilor flipped through the file with his thumb idly, "with marks like your, you have every right to pursue your education at, shall we say… a higher institution of learning. MIT or Harvard… even Oxford. But you are here, with us… why is that?"

"My decisions are my own, and none of your concern," Mandark said defensively, "and I'll thank you to refrain from your simpering concerns and stay out of my personal affairs."

Apparently, he was being ignored again, "And I can see from your scheduling that you've made the classic mistake of most freshmen."

Mandark scoffed, "I do not make mistakes," he paused, "…Do I?"

"I have your schedule here- a regular regiment of science and mathematic courses, stacked one after the other," he shrugged, "Where's the fun classes?"

"Fun classes?" Mandark arched a brow.

"Yes. Like art, or music. Some even take a theater course. I see none of those, here."

"As I recall, none of these so-called 'fun classes' are required for my major."

"No, they aren't. But they are required for your own health," the counselor looked at him over his foggy lenses, "You seem very serious. If you continue to take things so seriously, I don't think you'll make it this semester."

"Nonsense!" Mandark snapped, "Why, with my superior intellect, I could-"

"Are you willing to stake your academic record on that?"

Mandark paused, considering. His record was flawless, rivaled only by Dexter… and with Dexter's return, he needed to keep his edge, "…I'll consider it," Mandark responded at last.

"Fantastic. Now, I have some pamphlets that you can look through…"

xXx

His boots made a squelching sound and spattered his jeans with spots of muddy drainage water, but he ignored it. His eyes carefully spanned the dark, subterranean tunnel around him, mold and cobwebs dripping moisture from the ceiling. A bat distantly complained as he drew out his cell phone, his face light with the bright blue glow of the small screen, "Computer," he said, "activate GPS mode."

"GPS mode activated," Computer responded, a small, on-screen map appearing. "Location: Science building, university west wing."

"Computer, retrieve plans of the underground drainage system, section B," Dexter said, holding the phone over his head to squint into the dark, "Vocalize directions." and he began to creep forward, avoiding the drips.

After a bit, he reached a split in the drainage system, turning left, "It shouldn't be too far, now," he reasoned to himself, his gloved fingertips gracing the wall to guide him, "And with a proper amount of manipulation, access should become much easier…"

"WARNING: structural damage ahead," Computer said, "deviation in current course is advised."

"What?! Well, I'm certain it is nothing-- whoa!" his footing slipped, and he stumbled, tripping over a fallen chunk of concrete, falling forward. His cell phone jolted from his grip as he hit the cement with a cry, scrambling for a grip in the dark as he slid forward. After a brief drop, Dexter found himself face-down in mud and rainwater. He pushed himself up, sputtering a spitting the grit from his teeth, "Computer!" he called, groping around for his glasses, "Computer, where-?" he paused as he pushed his glasses onto his face, his eyes widening with awe at the sight before him.

Computer, buzzing overhead on a tiny propeller like a mechanical firefly in the inky darkness, shed light on the faint details of a massive, military-green steel bulkhead door, the number S58 stenciled in peeling white paint- the same number on his dorm room door. A wide grin crept onto Dexter's face before he could stop it, and he slowly stood, wiping his chin on his forearm, "Perfect."

xXx


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter four.

Music blasting in his ears. His fingers flying over the keys, one hand pausing to reposition the mouse while his other continued typing. A pause to lean over and catch the drink straw in his lips. He was working at maximum efficiency, as if his tireless efforts would keep the world spinning on its axis.

"What on earth is that _noise_?" Someone asked sourly, and Dexter paused in his work, like a gear jamming in a machine. Mandark stood in the doorway, a grimace on his visage as he dropped his backpack under the coat rack, "It sounds like a dial tone's demise."

Dexter frowned back, irked at being disturbed by something so trivial, "Trance," he growled, turning to return to his typing.

"Trance of what? A malfunctioning washing machine?" Mandark crossed the room to turn down the stereo, the heavy bass muted, "Music has _instruments_. This isn't music."

Dexter glared at him, not bothering to tell him that he had created the mix himself, "And I suppose that you are a scholar on the subject?"

Mandark smirked, "As a matter of fact, I am. Concert cello, since I was seven. Unlike you, Dexter, the reaches of my knowledge do not solely pertain to one form of expansion."

Dexter smirked back, leaning back in his chair to clean his glasses on his TESLA LIVES tee-shirt, "And I am assuming that _personality _is not a required course, yes?"

Mandark's features flushed slightly as he bit the inside of his cheek angrily.

Dexter turned his gaze away, back to the screen as he re-donned his spectacles, "I don't have the time to waste on you today, Mandark. Kindly allow me to continue with my work."

Mandark turned off the stereo. Dexter's eyes narrowed on him dangerously. He rose from his swivel chair, turning on the stereo. Mandark flipped it off again, a smirk curving the side of his lips. Dexter barred his teeth, jamming on the power button. Mandark reached forward again before Dexter gripped his wrist, twisting it away. Mandark winced with pain, prying at Dexter's grip with his fingers, and Dexter caught his other wrist, stilling him. They stared at one another for a few moments, until a blush suddenly reddened each of their faces. "Do not touch my things!" Dexter snapped at last, releasing him shortly.

"What you do with your things is nothing, unless it annoys me," Mandark huffed, turning away from him and heading for his own desk to flounce into his chair, "if it annoys me again, I'll destroy it."

"I'd like to see you try," Dexter challenged, sitting down in his own chair.

"I don't want to waste the effort," Mandark replied.

"Effort as in failing," Dexter snorted.

"That's not what your sister said."

"As if she'd give you the time of day!"

"She'd give me all the time I want!"

"_Nerd_!" they cried at each other simultaneously. They glared for a few short moments, before swiveling away and returning to their work.

Silence followed.

"So… what did you do, today?" Dexter asked at last, his interest in his CERN bubbles entirely diffused.

"I was accosted by the pig-headed campus councilor about my schedule. And yourself?" Mandark answered.

"Nothing much," Dexter said, carefully pushing his muddy boots further under the bed and out of view, "Antithetic Genetics was a bust, I believe I may drop it."

"Boring?"

"Stupid."

"What else are you taking?" Mandark questioned, turning back around in his chair, and Dexter faced him.

"Some stuff. I'm getting my Organic Chem out of the way while can, but it's pretty boring, too."

Mandark nodded, "Me, too. I've got it tomorrow…" he trailed off, seeming to fidget slightly, "Have you ever heard of… 'fun classes'?" He asked uneasily.

"Theoretical Physics and String Theory?" Dexter answered enthusiastically.

Mandark laughed shortly, "That's what I thought. But I guess they aren't… the councilor said something about acting and art or some nonsense…" he stood to retrieve his bag, shuffling around to pull out some flimsy, folded pamphlets.

Dexter rose from his seat to approach Mandark, taking one of the pamphlets curiously, ""Ceramics? Isn't that where they make pots and things?"

"I think so." Mandark responded, looking over some information on tap dancing.

"How is that fun?"

"I don't know. Have you ever done it?"

"Well… no. But the man seems like a fool, these have nothing to do with…" Dexter selected an article on flower arranging, "… science…"

"Well, I suppose there are some scientific elements," Mandark reasoned, "And perhaps acting could better me, in my pursuit of global domination… get people to trust me, something…"

"Yes. Even if these so-called 'fun courses' seem frivolous, I'm certain they have some sort of use, even if those with lesser intelligent take them to no end."

"So, are you taking any, this semester?" Mandark questioned.

"Are you?" Dexter asked in return.

"Maybe." They looked over the pamphlets in silence for a few more moments.

"Then I might. You know, as well. Can't let you go around having some sort of advantage over me or anything." Dexter tugged a few of the pamphlets out of the pile, retreating to his desk for contemplation.

xXx


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter five.

He wondered if he would ever get to see Dexter, in the morning. Not that he cared to- he'd have felt just well enough to pretend that he didn't exist. But it was a kind of hollow feeling, waking up to such emptiness, like the lived-in mess opposite his own side of the room was some clever optical illusion. Minus the pair of 'Operation' themed boxer-shorts- Mandark thought they were particularly tacky. Perhaps the bearings of one's room were supposed to display the personality of the occupant.

Orange, ugh.

Mandark started with what he was certain would become his every-day routine. By the time he got up at around 8:00, Dexter had already gone- giving him all the time he desired, in the shower. He dressed and gathered his things for the classes he would have, today, cramming them into his bag, before he straightened out his bedding and headed out the door.

The morning was damp with dew, and he knew it would be chill, until the sun dried things out. His lone travels led him to a coffee kiosk, where he purchased a cup and a cookie that looked tasty, and by the time he had finished with his silent breakfast, it was time for his first class: Biochem.

Mandark did not look like a great many freshman, stumbling around, lost in the new intricacies of the campus layout. He had weeks earlier memorized the layout of each of the buildings, analyzed the resources that lay within, in case…

Well, he hadn't experienced a giant robot attack in some time, now.

Mandark left his things on a peg near the door of the Biochem lab, gathering his lab coat and safety goggles and taking a seat at one of the tables by himself, sighing and brushing his bangs back from his eyes as he simply waited for the instructor to arrive.

"Manny?" someone asked, and he looked away from the periodic table posted on the wall, "Mandark Astronomonov, is that you?" A small, slender girl with long, straight, black hair and almond-shaped eyes smiled at him, "Oh my god, it _is_ you!"

Mandark blinked, his mind whirring with activity- firstly, why a girl a speaking to him in the first place, and secondly, why such a cute one would be, and at last a name settled, "Lee Lee?" he questioned at last.

She laughed, sitting on the stool beside him, "Yes! I can't believe you remember me, it's been so long…" she leaned forward in a friendly hug, "how have you been?"

"It's nice to see you, Lee Lee," Mandark smiled, "Where have you been? I thought you were studying abroad…"

"I was! I got back, a few months after graduation, But I guess that was, like, a year ago, wasn't it? This is so weird, I was just thinking about our old science class, in eighth grade, when we were lab partners- how you and Dexter got into that fight, and blew up the whole student auditorium?" She shook her head, "You two were such a pair. But last I heard, he was working up in Tanzania or some place, at least that's what Dee Dee said. Have you had any word, from him?"

Mandark frowned, "No."

"I had the hugest crush on him, when we were kids. But anyways. This is so great, being in the same class- do you think we could be lab partners, in the spirit of tradition?" She smiled, offering her hand in bargain.

Mandark swallowed, smiling shyly, "Sure," and they shook.

Mandark was impressed. At first, he had been hesitant, in choosing to take Lee Lee on, as a partner (in truth, his decision had been in the spirit of his entirely male interest, in the matter), but she proved to take directions well, create intelligent conversation, and make observations completely beyond her hopeful major in vocal producing.

"Why _are _you taking this class?" Mandark asked in hushed tones, at one point during the lecture portion of the class.

"I like science," Lee Lee had responded, striking a lock of hair behind her ear as she blushed slightly, "I think I could only fall for a nerd."

Mandark only misspelled _Prokaryote_.

"So, what's going on with you, Manny?" Lee Lee questioned, as they were stowing away their equipment in their designated locker and gathering their bags to leave, "How are your parents doing?"

"My parents sold the house and moved to a-" Mandark paused abruptly, lying, "A retirement community."

"Oh? They aren't that old, are they?"

"No."

After an uncomfortable silence, Lee Lee continued, "Well, anyways. It's great to have somebody around from the old days, things were great, back then."

"Sure," Mandark lied again, shouldering his bag and holding the door for her, and they emerged in the bright sunshine in the corridor. She smiled as she passed him, and was about to go on her way before Mandark gathered his courage, "Hey, um, listen, Lee Lee… when's your next class?"

She checked her watch, considering, "In about an hour."

"Do you want to grab lunch?"

She smiled, nodding, "I'd like that, Manny."

They had no sooner entered the stone archways of the outdoor cafeteria when Mandark saw the one person he had wished to absent from his day- Dexter. The red-head was seated at a vacant cement picnic table and parasol, his company consisting of a can of soda and a white laptop. Before Mandark could look away and ignore him, Lee Lee had spotted the sources of his staring, "Mandark, is that-? Oh my god, it is!" She rushed toward Dexter's table, and Mandark bit the inside of his cheek, glaring.

"Dexter!" Lee Lee chirruped, arriving with Mandark straying behind a few paces, "Dexter, it's me, Lee Lee!"

Dexter, intent on his typing, did not acknowledge her arrival until she waved her hand in front of the screen, making him blink and glance up. Lee Lee was laughing as he pushed his headphones off to hang around his neck, "Hi, Dexter," she murmured, suddenly shyer at his attention.

"…Lee Lee?" He questioned, blinking again.

"Yeah! Where have you been, Einstein?" She threw her arms around his neck in a tight hug, "No one's heard of you in ages! I saw Mandark, and he didn't say anything- I figured if anyone would know where you were, it would be him…"

Dexter glanced up, over Lee Lee's shoulder, where Mandark continued to glare at him, daring him to speak up in protest, "Well, I've been around, minding my own," Dexter replied, tossing his headphones onto his keyboard and rising to his feet, "But look at you! It's been what, three years? Since you went to study in Japan?"

Lee Lee looked flattered, "I got back about a year ago. I tried to look you up, but…"

"You've only gotten more beautiful, I think," Dexter smiled. Mandark knew the comment was genuine, and it only angered him further, the back of his neck and ears burning.

"And you're still such a nerdy ginger," Lee Lee joked, but still blushed, "But look at the three of us! It's bizarre, that we'd all turn up, here… and meet up like this!"

"Unexpected," Dexter agreed, darting another chill glance at Mandark.

And suddenly Mandark understood- Dexter had _planned _this. The reason he had attended this school was not in an attempt to catch up with his old rival, but because Lee Lee…

This meant outright war.

"Dexter- do you mind if we stick around? Manny and I were going to grab some lunch, and it would be great to catch up-"

"Alas," Dexter said, "I've got to get going, I have class. But it was wonderful to see the two of you," Dexter was cramming his laptop into his backpack and topping off the last of his drink.

"Oh. Well, that's okay…" Lee Lee scrambled for something in her bag, pulling out a flyer, "Um, they're holding auditions for recording club, and it would really mean a lot to me, if you two could show up." she passed a slip to Dexter, then to Mandark, "we could hang out some time, I don't know."

Dexter read over it briefly, "I'll see if I can't make it."

"My number is on the back," Lee Lee smiled, "Call me, if something comes up."

Dexter shrugged a shoulder, and with a last glance at Mandark, wandered off his own way.

"Now that you two have outgrown a lot of your old habits, I'm sure you'll be great friends," Lee Lee was saying.

"I'm sure," Mandark replied, watching his enemy go.

xXx


End file.
